I saw it advertised one day,
Bear mountain picnic was comin' my way.
Come along 'n' take a trip,
We'll bring you up there on a ship.
Bring the wife and kids
Bring the whole family.
Yippee!

Well, I run right down 'n' bought a ticket
To this bear mountain picnic.
But little did I realize
I was in for a picnic surprise.
Had nothin' to do with mountains.
I didn't even come close to a bear.

Took the wife 'n' kids down to the pier,
Six thousand people there,
Everybody had ticket for the trip.
Oh well. I said, it's a pretty big ship.
Besides, anyway, the more the merrier.

Well, we all got on 'n' what d'ya think,
That big old boat started t' sink
More people kept a-pilin' on,
That old ship was a-slowly goin' down.
Funny way t' start a picnic.

Well, I soon lost track of m' kids 'n' wife,
So many people there I never saw in m' life
That old ship sinkin' down in the water,
Six thousand people tryin' t' kill each other,
Dogs a-barkin', cats a-meowin',
Women screamin', fists a-flyin', babies cryin',
Cops a-comin', me a-runnin'.
Maybe we just better call off the picnic.

I got shoved down 'n' pushed around,
All I could hear there was a screamin' sound,
Don't remember one thing more,
Just remember walkin' up on a little shore,
Head busted, stomach cracked,
Feet splintered, I was bald, naked. . .
Quite lucky to be alive though.

Feelin' like I climbed outa m' casket,
I grabbed back hold of m' picnic basket.
Took the wife 'n' kids 'n' started home,
Wishin' I'd never got up that morn.

Now, I don't care just what you do,
If you wanta have a picnic, that's up t' you.
But don't tell me about it, I don't wanta hear it,
'cause, see, I just lost all m' picnic spirit.
Stay in m' kitchen, have m' own picnic. . .
In the bathroom.

Now, it don't seem to me quite so funny
What some people are gonna do f'r money.
There's a bran' new gimmick every day
Just t' take somebody's money away.
I think we oughta take some o' these people
And put 'em on a boat, send 'em up to bear mountain . . .
For a picnic.

• Angelina
• Blind Willie Mctell
• Call Letter Blues
• Catfish
• Eternal Circle
• Farewell Angelina
• Foot of Pride
• Golden Loom
• Hard Times in New York Town
• He Was a Friend of Mine
• House Carpenter
• I'll Keep It With Mine
• If You Gotta Go, Go Now
• Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie
• Let Me Die in My Footsteps
• Lord Protect My Child
• Mama, You Been on My Mind
• Man on The Street
• Need a Woman
• Nobody 'cept You
• Only a Hobo
• Paths of Victory
• Quit Your Low Down Ways
• Rambling, Gambling Willie
• Santa Fe
• Series of Dreams
• Seven Curses
• Seven Days
• She's Your Lover Now
• Sitting on a Barbed-wire Fence
• Someone's Got a Hold of My Heart
• Suze
• Talkin Hava Negeilah Blues
• Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues
• Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues
• Tell Me
• Walkin' Down The Line
• Wallflower
• Walls of Red Wing
• Who Killed Davey Moore?
• Ye Shall Be Changed
• You Changed My Life